“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

Planning a trip is not always done in a straight line. Sometimes the wheels are put in motion by a simple thought, an inspiration, seeing a “too good to pass up” deal on the Internet, getting a phone call from a friend, or in this case receiving an email with an invitation to join a small group that was forming to go to Africa.

We met Ben and Yulia in Turkey on the Gate 1 Tour we took last February. Ben is athletic, a great negotiator, and as Tim quickly learned, has a killer serve on the ping-pong table. Yulia is a tall, blonde beauty that could easily be found walking the runway for a major fashion house. But more importantly, she is kind with a sweetness that immediately puts you at ease in her company.

Tim and I were riding in the back of a tour bus in Ireland on our way to the Dingle Peninsula when I received their email with the heading “African Tour Invitation”. It took us in the neighborhood of about 20 minutes to discuss the idea and send a return message that YES, please count us in.

What Ben had put together was 13 days worth of awesomeness. But that is a LONG way to go, and I wanted to stay longer. Checking online we found a GATE 1 tour where the dates matched up perfectly so here is what we have come up with:

January 14th fly from Los Angeles via London to Cape Town South Africa arriving on the 16th. We will immediately start our Gate 1 Travel portion – 12 day Classic South Africa.

This portion will finish up in Johannesburg on the morning of January 26th. Tim and I will have two days on our own to further explore the city before meeting up with Ben and Yulia’s group arriving from the states on the evening of the 27th.

I’m open to ideas and suggestions of what to see/do for those two days in Johannesburg!

Map of Zimbabwe

The Motherland Tour has been arranged through Msuna Safaris and Travel. You can click here for an overview of that portion of the trip.

We will have three additional nights in Johannesburg before flying on to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe where we will spend the remaining time, with a side trip into Botswana.

Highlights will include:

Soweto Bicycle Tour

Tour of Sterkfontein Caves

Pretoria Walking Tour

Sunset Cruise in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Dinner at The Boma

Visit to the Victoria Falls Rainforest

Day trip to Chobe National Park

Visit the Bulawayo National Park

Matopos National Park

World’s View

Safari Game Drive at Phomolo Private Game Reserve

Visit to Great Zimbabwe

Safari Game Drive at Mutirikwi National Park

This segment will end on February 7th at Harare.

The next portion of our trip remains open as of this moment. I am in the process of trying to come up with some options of how we can maximize our time, and see the most variety. Luangwa in Zambia, Bazaruto Archipelago in Vilankulos Mozambique, and Etosha in Namibia, have all been suggested.

Tim and I have our return flight from Johannesburg back to Los Angeles booked for the evening of February 12th.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for Ben and Yulia including us on the “invite list”. This is shaping up to be an incredible trip and a wonderful way to get 2015 off to a GREAT start.

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About Tim and Joanne Joseph

Hi and welcome! We are Tim and Joanne Joseph and we have just embarked on our "next chapter". At a stage in life where traveling the world, taking pictures, and sharing our adventures with friends and family will be our dream come true.

12 Responses to South Africa is calling our name

I am so excited to read about your upcoming trip! My husband and I are going to Johannesburg this spring and are planning to do 1 or 2 safari game drives. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience!

Can’t wait for your blog on South Africa, we visited in in 2011. I hope you can fit in Nambibia. I love your descriptive writing, it opened our eyes to Central America and what we missed. Put Australia, especially Victoria on your Bucket List. Our son and my brother have just travelled across Australia from Perth to Melbourne by car recording very interesting experiences on Face Book.
Happy New Year and good travelling to you both, Regards, Gaye and Daryl O’Brien

Gaye, how wonderful to hear from you! I certainly miss our fun dinners together on board the ship. It does not look like we will get to Namibia on this trip, but we are certainly open to whatever we do get to experience. Your sons journey was no doubt fabulous. Is there somewhere I can check out his stories and pictures? Tim and I would love to get down your way one of these days for a reunion and to see more of your beautiful country. We still need to see the Great Barrier Reef, Ayres Rock and mine for opals in Coober Pedy. Driving across Australia would be fabulous. Sending love and best wishes to you both for 2015.

Sounds wonderful!
If you haven;t already found it, you might like reading “Slow Travel” by … um.. Martha Barrett (maybe?) about two ladies somewhat older than you who travel to a place each year and spend a few months. they went to South Africa on one of their trips, and it sounds like a fascinating place! Ithink you would enjoy the book, adn I am sure you will enjoy this trip!

We would love to have you join us - Follow Blog via Email

Hi and welcome! We are Tim and Joanne Joseph and we have just embarked on our "next chapter". At a stage in life where traveling the world, taking pictures, and sharing our adventures with friends and family will be our dream come true.